Duke Blue Devil's senior point guard Greg Paulus reportedly had a work out with the Green Bay Packers at some point over the last week or two. Paulus, a 4-year starter at Duke, was once a highly coveted quarterback prospect coming out of Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, New York. A 5-star recruit in both football and basketball, Paulus chose Duke Basketball over the likes of Notre Dame and Miami Football. Although Paulus enjoyed pretty solid success throughout his 4 years at Duke, he saw his minutes steadily decline until he started coming off the bench in the latter parts of the 2008-2009 season. Paulus' fiery attitude on the floor lived up to your expectations of a Dukie, and like your typical white Duke player, he found himself on the receiving end of some Duke hatred. Unfortunetaly for Duke fans, and fortunately for everyone else, Paulus is not quite NBA caliber and likely won't be suiting up for an NBA squad. Instead, it appears as though Paulus will explore his NFL potential.
While Paulus is certainly not the first basketball player to give the NFL a shot (See: Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates), he is certainly the most notable. Though Gonzalez, Gates, and a handful of others who have successfully transitioned from basketball to football have primarily been bigger players, Paulus' 6'2", 190 pound frame is arguably adequate size for an NFL quarterback, though he would certainly benefit from packing on a few extra pounds of muscle. He obviously obtains serious athletic ability, and has plenty of football experience to back it up. Whether or not Paulus has the ability to step in right away with an NFL club or if he'll have to take some time to polish his game is another question; however, if he can still toss the pigskin like this, Paulus will have himself a spot on an NFL team come training camp.
Extra Note
The Packers seem to be one of the first in a new trend of NFL teams pursuing talent outside of the NFL. Both the Dolphins and Steelers crossed the border into the CFL with the Dolphins signing B.C. Lions standout linebacker Cameron Wake, and the Steelers signing B.C. Lion running back, Stefan Logan. And then of course, there is Michael Vick, who may or may not be considered an 'outside talent', but there's no doubt there a handful of NFL teams hoping to see if he has anything left (An issue Mel Kiper's Hair will surely cover later). Paulus won't be the only basketball player looking for an NFL roster spot this offseason either, as the trend of college basketball to pro football is becoming increasingly popular. The increase in NFL scouting activity outside the NFL will definitely result in a few diamonds in the rough, but I think we'll see most of these guys fall into oblivion.
Photos Courtesy of Sports Illustrated
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